I heard an interview with a parent who had to decide which kid to go to find to be with when it hit. Talk about a Sophie's Choice!
And there was one guy trying to convince his pre-teen to go in the manhole into the sewer. Bless him, as if that would have helped. Sometimes it would be better to be incinerated in an instant, rather than to die slowly of radiation poisoning over days/weeks/months. It's not like it can be cured.
Brings back all the "duck and cover" drill memories from when I was a kid in the Greater NYC area. As if staying in the basement was going to make a difference, a few miles from ground zero. I particularly remember the drill we had when the USA blockaded Cuba, and if the Soviet ships had not turned around all hell would have broken loose. Everyone had to stay indoors, and my mother, the health food nut who didn't keep candy in the house, gave me an entire large bag of M&Ms. And was crying. She said, no, we didn't need to go into the basement like it said on the radio, and yes, I could keep looking out the window. It was a pretty day outside. Sunshine, flowers, birds chirping....
I do hope they get this insanity sorted out before it becomes established permanently as the new reality. Again. It wasn't good the last time. No need to repeat it. We do remember it. Really.
